Distant Sky
by Skyfall v2.0
Summary: The sky of this planet seemed like an endless plains of gray, extending as far as the eye could see. There were no clouds floating in the sky, no stars to observe. Nanoha and Planetarian crossover. Nanoha centric


A/N: As usual, story originally intended for the AnimeSuki community.

Well ... this is my first (and probably last) time trying a hand at crossovers. But somehow this idea settled in my head and just wouldn't let me go ... the themes seemed somewhat fitting as well, thus this Nanoha and Planetarian crossover was born. I believe i did fairly well at making this Nanoha-only friendly, so those not familiar with the story of Planetarian would not feel left out. Those familiar with the title are likely to get something extra from this though, but it is up for all to enjoy, which i hope you will :)

Disclaimer: Author does not own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha nor Planetarian ... wish i did though.

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Distant Sky

Chrono sighed heavily while eyeing the report sliding across the holographic screen in front of him. It was just like the previous ones regarding this case – dull, repetitive and unpromising. These smugglers had proven to be quite the resourceful and slippery bunch. Each time their current hideout was discovered they had managed to pack up and fade in to the shadows of universe right under the noses of Bureau pursuers. It had never accrued to him how tiresome of a job it would be to track down a smuggling operation with a dimensional travel capable shuttle at their disposal.

The technological advantages of Claudia and the overwhelming power advantage his combat mages offered mattered not if they could never get the chance to utilize them. Chrono suppressed a yawn and shifted his gaze to another display. The planet Claudia was orbiting and its name were not familiar to him. Not surprising, as the planet was a non-administrative one, just like all the planets these smugglers were using for their temporary bases. Life readings from sensors showed minimal activity, scattered all across the globe, concentrated at various points … but not large enough to be considered traces of civilization.

A typical backwater planet, just like the many he had seen in this wild goose chase, and now had to investigate as a matter of procedure. A waste of time according to him – these thieves never left behind anything that would allow to identify them, much less help tracking them. He was all but certain the investigation would prove useless, but not following these regulations would get him in trouble with the bureaucracy back in the main office. As such, one of his subordinates was down on the surface right now, looking for the remains of the smugglers hideout – anything they had left behind.

Stroking a few holographic keys brought up a communications window, and he was greeted by the smiling image of said investigator. The reason of her happiness in the rainy and cold weather escaped him, but cracked a small smile on his face never the less – after all, this was what made the brown haired instructor such a pleasant appearance. Of course, him being attracted to her a while back due to her fascinating personality was all but baseless rumors. Oh yes.

"Nanoha, how does it look down there?" A simple question said in a much more informal manner than he usually sported, much less focused tone than he usually displayed during work. One of the few luxuries he allowed himself when working with his friends, especially on a boring case like this. He had no idea why she had volunteered to do the investigation, especially in such a gloomy weather – some of his enforcers could have handled it. A mere information gathering hardly required Nanoha's presence, as she was only stationed here in case they had to encounter these thugs in combat, and only because this case was originally handled by Riot Force 6.

In fact, the whole division had been stationed on Claudia for this case at first, but since the whole ordeal was not getting anywhere, and the one brief encounter they had had proven the smugglers to be less than a threat, the whole 6th division had eventually returned to their normal duties, only leaving one member aboard, _as the damned protocol required. _Surprisingly enough, Nanoha had volunteered to be the one staying.

As such she was stuck on board of Claudia along with him for two months now, which is how long their dull chase lasted. Chrono was seriously considering requesting for another ship to take Claudia's place, as pursuing this particular gang of thieves with one of the most advanced warships seemed like a gross overkill. He pushed the thought back and focused on the image of Nanoha.

"Raising heart has picked up what seems to be the leftovers of the hideout. I am heading there now."

Something about the matter-of-fact response and the carefree expression of his friend didn't seem to click with him, but Chrono had long since got used to how surprisingly full of life Nanoha could look while doing the most serious of things.

"Understood." Chrono shifted in his chair, tilting his head to the right and resting it against the palm of his hand. Heavy chirping of rain could be heard in the background, meaning it had to be quite the downpour. "You really didn't need to go you know. I could have sent someone."

Nanoha only smiled at him and shook her head. "No, I wanted to go. It was getting quite stuffy in the ship - I wanted to stretch my legs… and wings" she winked at him.

Chrono smirked slightly at the notion – he knew first hand how much the brown haired girl enjoyed flying under the vast sky – something she never grew tired of, despite having the ability to do so for years. It was something she appreciated with a childlike innocence, pure and unforced. "Do as you wish. But don't stay down there too long if it can be helped – the rain is not good for you".

With that the holographic communication window besides Nanoha's head vanished, leaving only the noise of falling rain to distract her. "Mou, I am not a kid" she playfully pouted while stopping mid-air to allow Raising Heart to perform a more through scan of the area. Chrono did have a point about the rain though – it was unlike any other she had seen. The sky of this planet seemed like an endless plains of gray, extending as far as the eye could see. There were no clouds floating in the sky, no stars to observe – just a thick wall of dusty gray reaching in all directions up to the horizon.

As vast and endless as the rain itself. Large drops of the cold water were falling from the grey abyss above in a rapid fashion. Normally Nanoha would have nothing against soaking in the rain for while. In fact, she might consider it even refreshing after the artificially cleansed water of Claudia. As good as the technology doing the work was, the real thing had a certain feel to it the machines could not reproduce.

This time though she had placed a protective field of magic around herself, allowing herself to stay dry. Drops of water clashed against the invisible barrier, evaporating almost instantly. Yes, this was unlike any other rains she had seen. The corrosive substance was pouring mercilessly from the sky, poisoning the land below. Claudia's sensors had told them as much, and Raising Heart had confirmed it on the spot.

Not dangerous enough to hurt her instantly, but prolonged exposure was unadvisable. The mixture of chemicals in the rain was enough to cause minor skin burns and to be potentially damaging to organic life in general. The solemn scenery beneath left Nanoha with a sinking feeling in her heart. She hovered above a sparse forest, trees and bushes sinking in to a muddy substance. Instead of a refreshing green, the vegetation seemed to have adopted a dully grayish color, as if reflecting the sky above. She briefly wondered how some of the plants had grown so big in these circumstances, but was distracted by Raising Heart's report.

"Master, it has been found. Distance – approximately thirty miles"

"Thank you, Raising Heart". Nanoha resumed her flight in the direction pointed out by her device, adjusting her course slightly. She could not make out anything in the distance, but it could be blamed on the heavy rain that was severally limiting her field of vision, so all she could do was rely on her device for directions. The forest beneath soon came to an end, giving way to bare plains of sand and mud. A dull scenery with nothing for the eye to hold on to. It made her wonder how anything alive could exist in such a place at all – the sensors had pointed out some life on the planet.

"Approaching target"

the automated voice of her device once again pulled Nanoha out of her thoughts and she focused her vision. Indeed – she could make out some sort of an object in the distance, though all it resembled for now was nothing more than a shadow pressing through the rain and fog that had started to gather. She accelerated her flight slightly and continued towards what she assumed to be the remains of whatever facility the smugglers had used as their base.

After a few moments the mage realized she still had some distance to cover, as the object, apparently, was further away than she had expected. This made her wonder about the size of it, considering she could spot it in these circumstances from what now seemed like at least three miles of distance. Indeed – as she flew closer, the area seemed to expand behind the rainy curtain, meaning it occupied a rather large territory. Nanoha could already make out some shapes despite her clouded vision, and as her mind started to draw parallels with possible semblances to these images she felt a weird feeling in her stomach.

"Raising heart, let's hurry!"

She increased her speed to one that would make Fate proud and dashed towards through the air, feeling herself being slowly overtaken by surprise and bewilderment as her target came closer, confirming her suspicions. She stopped herself in the air and eyed the scenery beneath her with slightly widened eyes, surprise and shock evident on her face.

Gloomy scenery of a large, demolished city was what greeted Nanoha below. Thousands of time corroded buildings stretched to all directions, overlapped by a network of streets and alleyways, almost making it look like an ancient maze. A large, half-collapsed skyscraper proudly stood in the middle among a few smaller ones, indicating the center of what seemed to have been a prosperous city at one point. Most unusual was the wall though – the whole area was encircled by approximately ten meter tall barrier of concrete, as if to protect the city from something. A purpose it, apparently, hadn't served all too well.

After eyeing the shocking scenery for a while Nanoha slowly decreased her altitude, taking in her surroundings at the same time. A lot of the buildings were half collapsed, either from passage of time, the corrosive effect of the rain or due to whatever tragedy had befallen this place. Glass was something that was absent from most windows, allowing wind to echo freely through the lifeless buildings.

Nanoha landed on what seemed to be one of the main streets and almost immediately tripped over a large crack in the pavement. After steadying herself the bewildered instructor slowly turned around, examining the buildings in front of her. Signs with faded letters hung above the entrances to most of them, though she could barely make out anything. The language seemed familiar, but time and rain had ensured the text was no longer readable.

_Was this … a shopping district ?_ Nanoha started to slowly pace down the walkway, taking care not to trip over any more cracks, as they were filled with water and thus difficult to spot. According to Raising Heart her objective was a building slightly larger than others with a spherical roof – apparently some machinery was still active in there, presumably left behind by the smugglers. It was unusual of them to leave behind anything at all. Were they pressed for time to leave?

She turned a corner and stopped – the path was blocked by various wooden crates, remains of demolished furniture and even a rusty corpse of a car, all piled up to block the narrow street and tied together with rusty, metallic wires. _… a barricade?_ A little boost from her magic was enough to carry Nanoha over the obstacle. She landed on the other side and turned back, examining the contraption. Had the citizens tried to protect the city from something? What exactly happened here? Why was there a city on this forsaken planet in the first place?

A lot of questions demanding answers flowed through her head, but Nanoha shrug them aside and continued towards the spherical 'building', which appeared to be located on top of another building in front of her. Taking flight once again Nanoha scaled the height quickly, landing on roof of the base building, few steps in front of the spherical construction. An open doorway was right in front of her, as if welcoming her to come inside.

She debated on contacting Chrono about this but decided against it. Claudia had no records about this planet holding any civilization. It was non-administrative world, given only a number, not a proper name. If she were to contact him now, Chrono would have to recall her based on this unexpected discovery and conduct a through investigation on the matter. She could well do that after she had finished her investigation of the building in front of her.

_Perhaps Yuuno-kun can find something out about this._ The thought produced a small smile and faint blush on her face, and after a few seconds Nanoha realized she had spaced out for a hertbeat. She brought up her left hand and scratched her nose with index finer and let out a nervous laughter. "Nyahaha, what am I think about … in a time like this!" She mentally slapped herself and stepped inside her destination building through the opened door.

She was greeted by still air and relative silence, as the sheet of rain pounding the ground remained behind her. She eyed the dim room with reserved curiosity. The hall was mostly empty, only a few seats arranged along the walls. What seemed like a wooden counter was located to her right, sporting several plastic cases filled with various booklets on top of it. A reception area of some sorts ?

Unfortunately the booklets could not tell her anything, as the prolonged exposure to the damp air due to being located so close to the door had made the colors smudgy, mixing them together and completely eliminating any chance of the contents being readable. Another thing that caught her attention was a placard, located on the corner. The sign on it read: "Projections have currently been suspended". Nanoha tilted her head to the right slightly, reading the line over and over again._Projections?_

Apparently this place had used to be a theater of sorts – the shape of the building, being located on top of another building and presence of a reception area, coupled with this sign, indicated as much. Either way the building seemed to be intact. She could feel no draft, nor was there a sound of the rain coming from further inside. Apparently this building still offered a shelter from the forces of nature raging outside. She deactivated her shielding magic, immediately feeling as if a load was lifted from her shoulders. The spell was not very draining, but keeping it active for almost an hour had made it noticeable. Or rather, its former presence became noticeable once it was lifted.

Finding nothing more of interest in the reception area Nanoha started to pace down a hallway, moving deeper in to the building. The sounds of the everlasting rain decreased and eventually were left behind completely, leaving the sound of her footsteps as the only noise accompanying her. As she was about to step past a door she almost missed in the darkness, Raising Heart beamed up.

"Master, its here"

"Eh?" Nanoha stopped abruptly and faced to her left, only now noticing the large wooden door beside her. "Thank you, Raising Heart" she thanked her device while mentally scolding herself for carelessness. After a brief moment of hesitation she placed her hand on the handle and turned it, slowly pushing the door open. It opened slowly, making an unpleasant noise due to the rusty hinges. Nothing happened, and Nanoha noticed just how tense she had become just now.

Letting out a deep sigh the combat instructor forced herself to relax and stepped through the door. She found herself in a rather large room with circular ceiling. It seemed as some sort of auditorium, because of the large number of chairs lined up that took up the better part of the room. A stage was located at the far end of the room, reinforcing her conviction. What really caught Nanoha's attention was an object located on the stage though. It was a large, metallic device of a weird form.

For the lack of a better comparison it resembled a giant, to headed ant, a head located at each end. Two massive spheres were held together but a much thinner pipe of sorts, remaining to stand due to several metal support legs. The purpose of this contraption escaped Nanoha, but she was certain it was not something the smugglers had left behind – the object was far too bulky and large, and looked like nothing she had seen before. Something that belonged to this dead city.

A light in the corner drew her attention and Nanoha stepped forward. Indeed – it seemed this was the room where the smugglers had occupied. A number of chairs had been torn out from their spots in the floor and tossed in to a messy pile in a corner. A large desk had been set up in the empty space – something that, apparently, had appeared to be too big to quickly pack up and not valuable enough to bother.

The suspicious thing was the computer located on top if it though. It was a fairly old version – it had a physical monitor instead of a holographic one, which Nanoha hadn't seen for quite a while. The screen was emitting slightly green light, meaning a local energy source was still active. This immediately set of the alarms in Nanoha's head. Why would the smugglers leave behind a piece of perfectly workable equipment, something that looked easy to take with them none the less? And leave it operational? As if they had wanted it to be tracked by someone to the source …

As soon as this thought entered her head Nanoha's eyes went wide, as the thoughts in her head started to circle in a frantic motion. She quickly spun around, quickly scanning the dim room. Ultimately a useless motion, something she did out of reflex.

"Caution! Emergency!"

The warning from her device came what seemed a heartbeat too late, as she heard a faint click coming from the computer. "Round shie…" Her last word was drowned out by the thundering sound ripping across the room. Her vision exploded in bright light, making Nanoha shut her eyes instantly. She could feel the heat scorching her skin as the fire raged across the room, demolishing everything in its path with a force that sent her flying against a wall, causing stars to dance before her eyes upon the impact.

Her ears were ringing and Nanoha was certain they are about to burst if someone wouldn't cut out the noise. A few moments passed before Nanoha realized she is actually still conscious. The sounds of the explosion and crumbling building had died down, giving way to the gushing sound of a rain. After a few moments she dared to slowly open one of her eyes and observe the situation. First thing she noted was the spherical wall of pink energy surrounding her, making Nanoha sigh in relief.

Next came the pain in her right arm. Wincing she examined it and didn't know whether to be happy or not. The fact it was still there was definitely a plus. The torn barrier jacket and burnt skin was definitely not. After spending a moment to calm her furiously beating heart Nanoha concentrated a bit, working some light healing magic on her wounded arm, happily noting the pain slowly but steadily diminishing. It still looked terrible, but at least it didn't hurt anymore. This was the best she could do for now – healing was never her specialty.

Apparently her shielding spell had activated at the very last second, saving her from becoming one of the inhabitants of this dead city. Only then she realized her flight spell was activated and she was floating in the air, with nothing but a drop of about thirty meters below her. The blast had been extremely powerful – the spherical theatre was gone, and the building that had supported it was heavily demolished. Apparently many of the supporting walls had given in to the explosion, allowing the middle section of the larger building to crumble to the very ground.

If not for her flight spell active, she would have fallen to the ground along with the collapsing building. Even her shield active, that was something Nanoha doubted she would have survived. Nanoha smiled a faint smile and looked up to the sky. Who would have thought she was saved by the thing she received a childish joy from – the thing she had subconsciously clung on to during the impending danger. She truly was a person of the sky.

Upon examining the rubble beneath her again, a frown appeared on Nanoha's face. It was the first time these smugglers had taken this kind of an action. Up until now it had been a game of cat and mouse – a dangerous game, but nothing to the extent of such an attempt. It meant the upcoming missions had to be handled with more care, and it also meant a long and boring debriefing once she got back to Claudia.

Since her mission here had effectively ended just now in a flash, all that was left was to return to the ship and have her arm checked by a specialist. And give a long, detailed report. The last thought made Nanoha sigh and she decided in favor of a short fly before heading back – flying always calmed her down and allowed her to collect her thoughts. This time it didn't have such an effect though – the scenery of the forsaken city and forlorn sky did not offer any comfort to her mind; rather, she found herself slowly sinking in depression. The barren scenery beyond the city didn't seem any more appealing either, nor was the grim rain streaming from the gray sky.

She was about to call the ship when something caught her attention among the empty streets. A large contraption resembling a giant crab had collapsed in an opening near the wall, drawing her attention. After a moment interest won her over and Nanoha landed again, few steps away from the collapsed giant. From its four legs one seemed to be damaged and the now inactive robot had collapsed upon it. The visual condition of it was in a good shape though, indicating it was built to operate under the circumstances of the corrosive rain. A very large barrel was mounted on its back, and the purpose of it was unquestionable. A military design no doubt, easily reaching five meters in height if it would stand.

Nanoha frowned upon the sight and turned to face the rain engulfed city. The demolished buildings … barricaded streets … presence of a combat droid … was this mechanical warrior responsible for what had happened to the city? Were battles the cause that had left the city ruined in their wake, leaving only this ghostly reminder behind ? As she scanned the area in front of her something on the ground caught her attention.

Her blue eyes went wide when she realized there was a figure of a person lying on the ground, a hundred or so meters away. Before Nanoha could collect her thoughts she found herself already running towards the person. If, by any chance, the person was still alive, lying down in this rain was certainly not advisable. Nanoha's dash came to an abrupt halt when she came within a few meters of the person though.

With a loud gasp she stumbled backwards and collapsed on her knees, drenching her barrier jacket in a puddle beneath her feet. She quickly brought up her left hand and placed it upon her mouth, as if to stop her furiously beating heart from jumping out of it. The sight in front of her almost made her throw up, yet she found her eyes fixed on the scenery, not listening to the screaming voice in her head that told to turn away.

She had seen death on a battlefield – such a sight, while nothing pleasant, was not new to her. Yet something like this Nanoha had never seen. Had hoped she would never see. The body of female torn in half was lying before her, facing upwards. Only the torso was left intact; anything beneath waistline was completely severed. A sight Nanoha wishes she would have never seen.

Yet there was something … odd … about this sight. A feeling something was off she could not suppress. As such Nanoha got up from the ground and slowly started to pace towards with trembling legs that threatened to collapse under her at any moment. She felt her heart beating so fast as if it was about to jump out her chest, yet she moved ever so closer. Unwillingly examining the corpse a bit closer revealed the reason for said feeling.

Everything below the chest was torn asunder, revealing several wires, cables and other machinery. Several small parts lied scattered on the ground, sinking in the ever lasting rain and mud. It was not like the combat cyborgs Nanoha was familiar with; the one lying in front of her seemed to have been completely mechanical. _a … robot … ?._ Somehow the thought wasn't helping as much as Nanoha thought it would, so she closed her eyes, placed a hand upon her chest and started to count her heartbeats.

After calming down a bit Nanoha opened her eyes and inspected the robotic female closer. She appeared to be crafted with undeniable care - it would have been impossible to tell the difference between her and a human. She had the appearance of a young woman, no older than twenty years of age. Her lengthy, light blue hair was scattered in all directions, dirtied by the muddy water of the puddle she was lying in.

Her eyes were open, orbs of dark green staring lifelessly at the grey world above her. Rainwater had gathered at the corners of her open eyelids, creating an illusion she was crying. Or was it really an illusion? Her expression seemed a slightly happy one, completely unfitting her situation. She looked so gentle compared to everything else seen in this world; so out of place. A golden tag with a silvery outline on her chest caught Nanoha's attention, so she leaned closer. _Yumemi Hoshino_.

"Yumemi …" Nanoha quietly repeated while kneeling down and taking a strand of the blue hair in her hand and letting it run across her fingertips. Despite being completely damp it felt soft; it felt real. "… a nice name …". She found herself staring at the green orbs for a while; at the faint smile that seemed like the only serenity this fractured world had to offer.

"Ara ?" She brought up a hand and wiped away the tear that had threatened to roll down her cheek at any moment. "why am I … ?" Despite asking the question Nanoha felt her blue eyes going misty at the sight in front of her. A broken doll in this broken world, yet still …

"A data device has been detected" the chirpy voice of Raising Heart pierced through the serene moment, bringing Nanoha's attention back to reality. The sounds of the pouring rain that seemed to have faded from her consciousness returned, as the ever present background music of this world.

"Data device?" she repeated the phrase, not really understanding what Raising Heart meant.

"Confirmed. Distance: twenty"

To say she understood what Raising Heart meant would be an overstatement, yet still Nanoha stood up from her kneeling position and walked towards the direction Raising Heart had indicated – towards the wall. When Nanoha had paced the indicated distance she was overcome with yet another unpleasant feeling. In front of her lied what, undoubtedly, was the remains of a human skeleton. Only a few bones had remained, half sunken in the mud and corroded by time. A piece of black cloth was pinned to the ground by one of the bones, slightly moving in the wind like a dark flag, announcing the resting place of it's master.

"Are you sure it is her, Raising Heart ?" the idea of searching the immediate vicinity of a body didn't not strike her as pleasant, but the confirmation made Nanoha grit her teeth and examine the ground more carefully. Only thing that caught her attention was what seemed like a cigarette box, half sunken in water beneath what she assumed to be the remains of a ribcage. What was strange was the fact it had not dissolved in the poisonous rain. Was it waterproof ?

Gritting her teeth Nanoha kneeled down and reached after the pack through the ribcage with trembling fingers. She quickly snatched it, stood up and backed away a few steps. She opened it and indeed – instead of cigarettes she found something resembling a computer part. "Raising Heart, what is this ?"

"It appears to be a data storage device. The file appears to be a video recording. Data corruption over ninety percent. Shall I display it ?"

Nanoha blinked at the question, staring at the small object in her hand._Video recording? Of this place?. _While her mind was still mussing this over her mouth had already made the decision. "Yes, please".

"Alright"

With that a holographic screen appeared in front of Nanoha, showing a scenery she couldn't recognize. A prosperous city, pulsing with life. Streams of joyful humans passing by under the bright rays of the sun. A merry chatter filling the air. A scenery completely different from the one Nanoha had seen today.

There was a voice speaking in the background, but it was filled with static and it was impossible to understand. Apparently the data was damaged. "….mi". Another voice, barely audible as if coming from afar, but not disrupted by static at least. Apparently the person doing the recording heard it and turned to the right, revealing a black haired woman in what seemed like a white lab coat, walking closer at a steady pace with a slight frown on her face.

The person stopped in front of the camera and crossed arms on her chest. "Yumemi-chan, can I ask you a question ?"

Nanoha stiffened at the mention of the name, slowly turning her head to look over her shoulder Her slightly widened eyes traveled towards the broken body behind her, then towards the holographic image in front of her, then back to the remains of Yumemi before settling upon the microchip in her hand. _Yumemi … are these her … memories … ?_

Slightly bewildered she turned her attention back to the hologram. She had missed the question, but the conversation was going on and the static seemed to have lessened. "My job is to welcome and assist guests at the ticket counter in the Planetarium." Apparently she had just listed her assignment. Her voice was clear and pleasant, and it tingled with pride as she said it, yet echoed with a childlike innocence and excitement.

The woman sighed and placed her hands in the pockets of her white coat before looking up again. "Well then, why are you three kilometers away from your post?"

The camera shifted slightly, as if Yumemi had shifted her head to the right. "Well … it's a long story. From the …" the image died in a sudden surge of flickering gray and black; annoying chirping of static filled the air for a moment before the image stabilized once again, showing interior of a dark room. It was filled with people, sitting in rows of neatly arranged seats, all eyes seemingly focused on Yumemi in anticipation.

"Actually … miss Jeana is right here" She said in a cheerful voice, turning to the right and extending her hand towards a weirdly shaped machinery not far from her, and the audience erupted in laughter.

"This is …" Nanoha mumbled quietly as she stared at the familiar device on screen. Without a doubt, it was the same ant-shaped contraption she had seen back in the spherical building. _Is this … the same place ?_

The screen flickered again but stabilized very quickly, still showing the inside of the dome. Yumemi apparently looked up, turning her attention to the curved ceiling that was currently basking in fiery orange. The color quickly died down, being replaced by dark grey and black. Then, after a moment of tranquility, pinpoints of silvery light started to appear, scattered all over the dome like grains of sand, some larger, some barely visible, filling the room with dim and silvery light.

"This is the starry sky at 10pm tonight." The voice of Yumemi proudly proclaimed in a crisp and elegant tone as she turned her gaze towards the audience; all the people in the room had turned their heads upwards, apparently eyeing the scenery above. Nanoha noticed that both spherical ends of the ant-shaped device had lit up in dozens of lights and were slowly rotating around their axis. Was it the one projecting the image ?

The image died once again, leaving Nanoha staring blankly at the flickering screen. She turned in direction where the spherical building had been still located a little while ago, feeling a slight surge of pain in her right arm. A faint "I'm sorry" escaped her lips surprising even herself, as her gaze fell towards the lifeless body of Yumemi again. Just what was she doing right now ? She was standing in the middle of a crumbled city upon a fading world, watching the recordings a now broken robot had taken through her eyes.

Yet still … she couldn't help but feel sorry for it … _her._ For some reason Nanoha found herself unable to walk away. Bound by a fleeting emotion, neither sorrow, pain nor remorse; she found herself standing here, unable to move from this very spot. The screen flickered to life again, drawing Nanoha's attention once more.

The image shifted to what Nanoha recognized as the reception area of the building she had entered. A group of five was standing in front of her, their faces obviously filled with concern and sadness. The veiling of sirens could be heard in the background, indicating something had gone wrong.

"It's alright, Yumemi … you don't have to worry about anything now." His voice was quiet and he downcast his gaze as he said that. A woman spoke up next in a shaky voice "Listen up, Yumemi … For a while all of us … will be going on a trip"

"Ah, a trip. How wonderful!" the voice of Yumemi pierced the gloomy atmosphere with her seemingly ever present optimism.

The woman swallowed before continuing "So … we want you to look after this place while we are gone. We want you to wait here until we come back, okay?"

"Acknowledged. Then, what would be the estimated time of your return?"

Upon the question all five lowered their gaze and the scenery was engulfed in silence. Nanoha could swear she had seen a tear trailing down the face of the woman before the screen suddenly went dead again. This time Nanoha found herself unable to look at the remains of the robotic girl behind her. Apparently the city had been evacuated … yet for whatever reason Yumemi had been left behind. Abandoned to become an eternal part of the ever silent city. Why ? Why were humans so …

The screen flickered to life again, revealing the figure of a man standing in front of her, a gun gripped in his right hand. "Welcome, Mr. Customer". The radiance in her voice had not changed one bit. "Actually, you are the first customer to visit us in twenty nine years and sixty four days… "

The image flickered once again, shifting to scenery Nanoha recognized very well. The dully colored sky filled the heavens above; the seemingly eternal rain drenching the world in poison and decay. Yumemi was walking towards in the rain, and the area seemed awfully familiar to Nnaoha. She almost gasped in surprise when silhouette of the crab shaped war machine appeared in sight, slowly turning to Face Yumemi who just kept walking towards. The dreadful barrels of machine guns positioned on its torso suddenly lit up, and for a brief instant before the camera died again the sound of gunfire filled the air.

Unexpectedly the screen lit up almost instantly, only this time the image was heavily distorted, but the sound seemed intact. Endless plains of the gray sky filled the screen, indicating Yumemi must have been lying on her back. The shape of a man loomed beside her, apparently kneeled down.

"Mr. Customer … are you not injured?"

"I told you not to move until I returned! Why did you do such a stupid thing !?" The man was yelling at her, but it was not anger that filled his voice … concern … sadness … a hint of desperation.

She answered something, but the answer died out in static interruptions that lasted for a few seconds. "… I believe the rampant machine has now terminated its functions". The screen flickered for a bit, but remained active. "I am sorry for having violated a critical directive … but there was an older promise I had to fulfill…"

The screen faded, but the sound still remained. "It can't be helped … after all I was a just a broken robot. No matter how I looked at it, I came to a conclusion that humans would never come again. But … that can't be true, right ? I must be broken if I am having such thoughts … "

Some static interrupted the sound again and lasted for a while, all the which Nanoha spent blankly staring at the empty holographic screen, finding herself trembling lightly. Finally the static faded, giving way to the now familiar voice, though much more quiet this time around… her voice was growing softer and more intermittent. A shaky image appeared as well.

"… but … I was wrong. It was not me who was broken … it was … " She slowly turned her head from left to right followed by a mechanical sound of functioning mechanisms, eyeing the vast sky, vision of the morbid world reflecting in her gaze. "Why … did everything break …?"

"Mr. Customer … " her gaze fixed upon the man kneeling besides her "I have but one … request. If … if I must go to the heaven … please … don't split the heaven in two. That heaven … not be …split in two…"

The image died down, this time turning completely black. The Sound started to fade slowly, carrying the soft spoken words with it. "What do you think of the Planetarium? This beautiful twinkling of eternity that will never fade, no matter when …". And then it was silence. The screen didn't light up anymore. Rain pounding all around her was the only noise filling Nanoha's world for the moment.

Slowly she titled her head backwards and looked up at the lifeless sky, blankly watching the raindrops evaporate against the barrier surrounding her. She gripped the memory device in her hand, bringing it closer to her chest. A single tear trailed down her cheek, leaving a salty trail behind it.

Why …? Why had this world turned in to this? Why couldn't it remain as it were in the memories of Yumemi ? Why did the same people who created something as pure as her also break the world apart ? Why did humans always destroy everything that was beautiful, even that which they themselves created ? Why had they taken away the sky of this world, leaving behind a gray abyss of sorrow; a dying world, a poisoned sky.

Nanoha was a person of the sky; many had told her that. Soaring through the unlimited plains of the sky was the joy of her life. "Raising Heart … contact Claudia. Request an orbital teleportation." Her voice was silent, barely more than a thought. Yet her device confirmed the command and the holographic display jolted to life once more, delivering a message that her request was received. She gripped the memories of Yumemi tighter in her hand and cast a final gaze at the sky. It was her element, yet it had never felt so distant before. This was a sky Nanoha did not wish to fly under.


End file.
